Product Description
Illustrated in black-and-white. This ingenious fantasy centers around Milo, a bored ten-year-old who comes home to find a large toy tollbooth sitting in his room. Joining forces with a watchdog named Tock, Milo drives through the tollbooth's gates and begins a memorable journey. He meets such characters as the foolish, yet lovable Humbug, the Mathemagician, and the not-so-wicked "Which," Faintly Macabre, who gives Milo the "impossible" mission of returning two princesses to the Kingdom of Wisdom.
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Amazon.com Review
"It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time," Milo laments. "[T]here's nothing for me to do, nowhere I'd care to go, and hardly anything worth seeing." This bored, bored young protagonist who can't see the point to anything is knocked out of his glum humdrum by the sudden and curious appearance of a tollbooth in his bedroom. Since Milo has absolutely nothing better to do, he dusts off his toy car, pays the toll, and drives through. What ensues is a journey of mythic proportions, during which Milo encounters countless odd characters who are anything but dull. Norton Juster received (and continues to receive) enormous praise for this original, witty, and oftentimes hilarious novel, first published in 1961. In an introductory "Appreciation" written by Maurice Sendak for the 35th anniversary edition, he states, "The Phantom Tollbooth leaps, soars, and abounds in right notes all over the place, as any proper masterpiece must." Indeed. As Milo heads toward Dictionopolis he meets with the Whether Man ("for after all it's more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be"), passes through The Doldrums (populated by Lethargarians), and picks up a watchdog named Tock (who has a giant alarm clock for a body). The brilliant satire and double entendre intensifies in the Word Market, where after a brief scuffle with Officer Short Shrift, Milo and Tock set off toward the Mountains of Ignorance to rescue the twin Princesses, Rhyme and Reason. Anyone with an appreciation for language, irony, or Alice in Wonderland-style adventure will adore this book for years on end. (Ages 8 and up)
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 A funny book
I am eight years old and the book is great is for any child to read.
I really enjoyed reading the book. I definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys humorous books. Sometimes I couldn't put the book down because it was so interesting and I really wanted to find out what was happening next. My older sister, who is 11 years old also loved the book. Both of us are girls.
The book is about a boy named Milo who didn't know what to do with himself and finds out there is much more exciting things about life. My favorite part was when he went to Dictionopolis and he met King Azaz.
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THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster ( thepaxdomini )
The Phantom Tollbooth is a children's fantasy novel written by Norton Juster and Illustrated by Jules Feiffer. The story is about a bored child named Milo, who travels to the fantastical Kingdom of Wisdom, where he makes friends, goes on quests, and learns valuable life lessons.
The moral of the story is overt: Milo goes in apathetic toward everything and gradually acquires a healthy appreciation for reading, math, thinking, and learning in general. There are obvious parallels between The Phantom Tollbooth and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Tollbooth is, in a way, a Pilgrim's Progress for thought and learning.
Juster's story is based on wordplay, and is heavily pun-driven. But Juster's writing is so clever that this nearly always works without becoming tiresome, and the book is so humorous and entertaining that even adults should not get bored.
Feiffer's illustrations are sloppy-looking pen scratchings. They aren't great, but they get the job done. Ultimately, though, in the almost fifty years since The Phantom Tollbooth was published, Fieffer's art has been indelibly intertwined with what this book is. In other words, The Phantom Tollbooth is not a book that could ever be re-released with a different set of illustrations.
The Phantom Tollbooth is a classic of children's literature, a book that has held up well over time, and one that can be enjoyed by adults as well.
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My favorite book of all time.
Ok, I HATE nonsense novels so you'd think that I'd hate the phantom tollbooth ,right? Wrong! This book is not like other nonsense novels; it's special. With lovable characters such as: Tock the Watchdog, Humbug, Rhyme, Reason, King Azaz, The Mathamagician, and of course the star of this, Milo. I love every single story in this book and laughed aloud at them each-except the first one about numbers, which made my head hurt.
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An Overlooked Classic
This is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. I never heard of it growing up, and my parents were diligent in providing us with the classics. Even today most of the customers in my bookstore don't know it exists. This is a crime, because it belongs right up there with Alice in Wonderland and The Wind in the Willows. It's a fantasy about a bored little boy who gets into a magic car and goes through the phantom tollbooth into a land of adventure. He must rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason to restore order to the kingdom. It is chock full of extremely clever puns, because in this world things are really taken literally. You can eat your own words, visit the Island of Conclusions (which can only be reached by jumping to it) and so many more that I won't spoil it by telling you about them. I often found myself laughing out loud. Sure, it's considered a children's book and kids love it, but don't let that put you off if you're an adult. It's timeless, and everyone can enjoy it. A friend who's a librarian recommended it to me, and I'll be forever grateful!
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The point is to learn how to think
"Can you help me?"
"Help you! You must help yourself," the dog replied, carefully winding himself with his left hind leg. "I suppose you know why you got stuck."
"I guess I just wasn't thinking," said Milo.
"PRECISELY," shouted the dog as his alarm went off again. "Now you know what you must do."
"I'm afraid I don't," admitted Milo, feeling quite stupid.
"Well," continued the watchdog impatiently, "since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking."
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